A guardian angle
by lexiepedia
Summary: My first fanfic! Basicly it s a Chax story of the aftermath of the kidnapping of Tamara and Ricky, when Brax gets Brax getting hurt brings Charlie out of wp and she hurries to be by his How will everyone react, and what will happen after Brax wakes up and demands the truth of her Is everything as clearcut as he thinks or is there more to the story?
1. Chapter 1 - Reunion

**This was my first fanifiction, and it didn´t turn out quite right so that´s why I decided to rewrite it a little bit. The content is still the same with just a few edits.  
It´s about what would happen if Charlie came back when Brax was in hospital after Adam shot him. Brax is with Ricky but he still loves Charlie, but neither of them wants to back down of their version of what happened that day Brax and Ruby turned off the switch to her life-support. **

**I really hope you like it, and feel free to give me feedback I really appreciate it!  
XXx Lexie**

**Chapter one – When the world stops**

**Charlie´s pov**

She hung up the phone in shock and sunk back onto the sofa and put her face in her hands. Her brain worked a hundred miles per hour while she looked out the window trying to sort her thoughts.  
The news she had gotten over the phone really scared her. Even though she was angry with him she didn´t want this for him or his family.  
She couldn´t hold back the tears that escaped, all she wanted was to be there, to hold his hand and help him get through it.  
But then the words that had been on her mind for the past year and a half took over. _"He knows. He´s the one that agreed to this." _And then all the pictures she had been showed that pictured him with a different girl almost every week and then every few months. It hurt, it really hurt. And sometimes when she was at her lowest and she remembered the pictures, the thought that he never really cared about her came up, and it only grew stronger every time she was shown a new picture. So eventually she asked them to stop with the updates on him, and only tell her if it was really serious, like now.  
But even though she was hurting, she still wanted to see him, and not only had she been given the chance to see him. She had also gotten the chance to go back to the place she called home, the place where all the people she loved was.  
Before she could change her mind she picked up her phone again and dialed the number to the last caller.

**Bianca´s pov – At the hospital**

After what the Inspector had spoken he walked further down the corridor and left them to grasp what he had just told them, she found herself in a daze. She was alive. After all this time and she was alive.  
She didn´t know what she should feel. Should she be happy, sad or angry? Angry that she left them thinking she was gone when she wasn´t. Or just happy and be grateful that she´s still with them.  
She was drawn out of her thoughts when Heath spoke next to her.

"I want her here!"  
"What?" The Inspector looked shocked at him and so did she. Never in a million years would she ever think she would hear Heath say that he wanted Charlie around, and especially not after what they just had been told.

"You heard me! I want her here. My brother´s in a coma, a coma he wouldn´t be in if he hadn´t lost her. Cause if he hadn´t lost her he wouldn´t have gotten involved with that dog and then chased after that sister of his. And she might be able to make him come around, I need her to at least try. She owes him that much!"

The inspector just nodded before he turned and picked up his phone and then walked out of earshot. I turned my attention back to Heath when he spoke.

"I can´t believe that she´s still alive. Everything we went through, what Brax went through… And it was all for nothing!"  
"I´m sure there´s a pretty good explanation, they had a good life when it happened. She wouldn´t just get up and leave without a reason."  
"Yeah… But I can´t believe that she actually left. And now Brax is in here!"  
"Yeah I know… But if anyone can get through to Brax its Charlie, he has never been able to resist her."

I put my arms around him and snuggled my head in the crook of his neck, and went back to what we did before, waiting.

**A few hours later**

She had almost fallen asleep in the plastic chair that stood in the waiting room when she heard footsteps coming closer. When she looked up she saw a tall, slim brunette with long hair coming closer and closer. And the closer she got the more of her she could take in. Her turquoise eyes glimmered, she had never seen someone with so beautiful eyes except from Ruby, her daughter. It was really her, she was really here.  
Charlie stopped a few feet form then and looked shyly at them before she spoke.

"Hi." And that was all it took, Bianca flung herself at her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Nothing mattered anymore. The only thing that mattered was that she was here, her best friend was back.

"I´ve missed you so much Charlie!" She said through the tears that fell from her face. She pulled away from the embrace and looked at her best friend that also had tears in her eyes.

**Charlie´s pov**

She couldn´t believe she was really back here again. She never thought that she would ever get to see this place again. She pulled in in the parking lot at the hospital and walked up towards at the entrance. When she got to the front desk she nervously asked for Brax and the nurse told her where to go. The closer she got his room the more she wanted to turn around and run out and never turning back. She could only imagine the reaction she would get from Heath, probably an outburst of some sort.

She stopped a few feet from where Heath and Bianca was seated in a pair of the plastic chairs in the hallway. When they saw her they stood to their feet and just looked at her. She tried to find something good to say but nothing good came out.

"Hi"

When the word left her mouth Bianca´s eyes darted and then she was pulled into a tight embrace, and then she couldn´t hold back the tears anymore. She had missed this so much. Not a day had gone by without her at least once picking up her phone to call Bianca to just chat, only to then realize that she couldn´t.  
Even though they hadn´t been on the best of terms before she was shot, she still loved her and wanted nothing but her best friend´s shoulder to cry on when she found out that Brax was the one that had sent her away from him and her daughter.

"I´ve missed you so much Charlie!"

Her friend pulled away and they looked at each other, smiling and with tears in their eyes, both just as happy to see each other again. But before she could respond she was pulled in another embrace by a pair of big strong arms that hugged her tight before being let go and looking up at a smiling Heath. She was stunned! She had expected an outburst, being yelled at and being told horrible things, but never, never had she thought that he would be happy to see her.

"It´s good to see you Buckton!"  
"It´s good to see you too Heath!" He smiled quickly before his face went serious, and I could tell that he wanted to say something.

"Just spit it out Heath. Why am I here?"  
"I need you to talk to Brax"  
"Why he´s in a coma?"  
"Yeah, but the doc said that we should talk to him, that it somehow would help. I don´t know alright. We have tried but nothing happens, and when we were told that you were still alive… well I figured that if anyone could get through my brother´s big skull, it would be you. Cause he would do anything for you, so if you demand that he gets his shabby as back to us then he will!"

She couldn´t help the tears form falling when he spoke, the words warmed her heart. It was the closest Heath had ever come to except her relationship with Brax.  
She had once too believed that Brax would do anything for her, he had said so himself. But that wa before she was faced with the truth.

"Somehow I doubt that Heath."  
"Come on Buckton! Just give it a try, he has to fight, he can´t just give up! I won´t let him!"

She could hear the desperation in his voice, he really was lost without his brother. Just as Brax would´ve been if it was Heath or Casey that was in there, fighting for their lives. So she just nodded and Heath led her through the doors and then walked back out and left her alone.

She gasped at the sight and her hand flew up to her mouth to cover her cry. He looked so weak, and Brax wasn´t a weak man. He lay there with monitors and drops and needles everywhere, and then there was this constant beat that told her that he was alive.  
He looked so pale and far away, it was a state that she had only seen him in once before, and that was after the time he was stabbed and she spent the night by his bedside.

**Flashback**

She was so furious with him for letting Ruby and Casey get into a situation like that. She was so angry when she walked up the stairs up to Angelo´s, the bastard wouldn´t even pick up his phone to let her know that he was alright and to see if Casey or Ruby was alright. Even though she was angry with him she couldn´t help but feel worried, he hadn't answered his phone and Ruby said that he had gotten into a fight with Jake, and they had found blood on the scene that wasn´t Jake´s.

When she walked in through the entrance to the restaurant she saw him behind the bar with a glass in front of him.

"Why haven´t you answered any of my calls?"

She saw him winch in pain where he stood, and then it donned on her that he was hurt.

"Brax, we found blood all over the scene and it wasn´t Jake´s…  
"Charlie, Charlie…" His voice sounded weak and before she knew it he started to sink to the floor and she ran around the bar to find him on the floor barley conscious. She pulled him close and treid to keep him awake.

Later at the hospital she had taken the duty to guard his room, and she sat all night by his side with his hand in hers and her lips on his knuckles and talked to him. Begging him to wake up so she could look him in the eye and tell him how she felt. But then Tegan showed up with Darcy and he started to push her away.

**End of Flashback**

That night she had realized that she loved him and that she couldn´t stand the thought of losing him, but it all went downhill.  
And now she stood her again, with possibility to lose him once again.  
She walked closer to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. She took his big hand in his and felt a shockwave of emotions going through her when his skin touched hers.  
She was lost of words; she had no idea of what to say or what to do. All her strength went to keep the tears from falling.


	2. Chapter 2 - Facing the facts

_**Thank you so much for all your reviews! Didn´t think I´d get any after just my first chapter, but I´m glad you like it! I have to admit that I was a bit nervous, firstly because it´s my first and secondly cause it´s a bit different and I´m not really sure how it will turn out just yet.  
So here´s the second chapter, it´s a bit longer then the first one, that was pretty short. Any ways, I hope you´ll like it. And thank you again for your reviews, it really means a lot so keep´em coming guys! So read and let me know what you think! Xx Lexie**_

**Charlie´s pov**

She had been sitting there for almost an hour without saying a word. She just held his hand and caressed his knuckles with her thumb. She was about to get up and leave when she remembered the look on Heath´s face and the desperate tone of his voice. So sat back down and took a hold of his hand once more. _"Come on, get a grip! Just talk to the bloke!"_  
She looked down on his face and smiled at the peaceful look that spread across his handsome face. She remembered all those nights when she would wake up in the middle of the night after one of their "fun", as Brax called it, and just look up at his face and he would have that same expression.

She lifted one of her hands and cupped his cheek and caressed it with her thumb before she drew it back and placed it on his hand again.

"_Hi… I uhm, I don´t really know what to say here. But you need to wake up Brax! You can´t give up now, you have to be strong and fight cause your brothers needs you… You should see Heath, he´s a mess! I don´t think he has had much sleep these last few days, even though he doesn´t want to admit it, he needs you. And so does Casey and Kyle. They all need you!"_  
The tears streamed down her face for no reason and the words just came out before she knew it. It was so easy to talk to him even though he probably didn´t hear her. He always made her feel relax and safe, he made her feel like she could tell him anything.  
She kissed his hand and took a deep breath to calm her down before she continued.  
_"You need to come back Brax, because you have so much left to do. And I know how much you hate unfinished business. You need to come back and sort this out and settle everyone's mind, you´re probably sick of doing it, but just one last time you need to be strong!... I know that you probably can´t hear me but I´m gonna say it anyway… I need you to come back for me too, even though I might not mean as much to you as you do to me… But I need to know why you did it… I need to know why you agreed to let them take me away from you… and from my daughter… why you would let my daughter believe that I was gone. And I care about you Brax. I need to know that you're okay… I need you to be happy and if that is with this other girl… then I want you to be with her.. So fight and come back to us and let us know that you´re okay, cause we can´t lose you!"_

She couldn´t go on any longer, all the feelings she had kept in for so long just came blabbering out and so did the tears. All the sadness and all the anger, all the question that had been on her mind driving her insane was no out in the open and it felt good.

Suddenly all the machines started to beep and she stood up in panic, and then Sid came running through the doors followed by Heath, Bianca, Casey, Kyle and a blond girl she assumed was Ricky.

She could hear Sid and the nurses talking and then one sentence broke through the noise and reached her ears. _"He´s waking up!"  
_She couldn´t take it anymore she had backed up towards the door when everyone came rushing in, and when everyone was too busy watching Brax she slipped through the doors and walked down the corridor and rounded a corner before she slipped down to the floor and leaned against the wall.

**Brax´s pov**

Black, everything was just black. And then this angelic voice pierced through the darkness "_You need to come back Brax" "I need you to come back for me too…" "I care about you Brax…" "…I need to know that you´re okay" "…We can´t lose you"  
_The sound of her voice made his heart beat faster. He couldn´t believe that he finally got to hear her voice, it felt so good. It felt like coming home. But then her voice disappeared and was replaced by others and then the darkness disappeared and he started to see things clearly, like the nurses and the doc that was hovering over him, and his family that stood next to the bed looking at him with smiles on their faces. But his eyes only stayed on her, she stood alone by the door with tears in her eyes, then the nurse leaned over him and the next thing he knew she was gone.  
_"Char…" He tried to call after her but his voice broke.  
"Hey Brax, mate don´t try to speak okay."_

After hours of tests and scans he was finally back in his room in a sitting position listening to all the things his family said. Ricky sat there too but she didn´t say and none of his brothers tried to include her either. It was clear that they didn´t want her there. He didn´t know if he wanted he there either right now. He loved her, but he couldn´t help but feel a bit betrayed. And somehow that and the love he had for Charlie weighed out the love he felt for her. As long as Charlie was in the picture he couldn´t be with Ricky.

"_Where´s Charlie?"_ The others looked awkwardly at each other before Heath decided to speak up.  
_"The coppers took her to a safe house to get some sleep, she´s still in wp."_ Heath and Bianca had filled him in on the story of her going in to witness protection and that she had broken every rule to get here when they told her about him. But by the look on Heath´s face there were still some things he didn´t know.  
_"Mate, when Charlie went away she asked for updates on her family, so when you got shot the police told us about everything in case she would try to break out to see you. And we ended up asking her to come cause we knew she could get through you thick head. When we asked her to stick around she said she would stick around a few days but then head back from where she came from."  
"Well I want to see her. I need to see her before she goes!" _

He couldn´t bear the thought of losing her again, not without an explanation at least.  
_"I know mate I´ll try."_

**Heath´s pov**

It took him over a week before he finally convinced Charlie to come back to the hospital. The entire car ride over was quiet, she just looked out the window, lost in thought and didn´t seem interested in starting a conversation with him.  
When they got to the hospital and were close to Brax´s room he could feel her turning around, but he gently but firmly pushed her along and lead her through the doors, only to leave her and Brax alone. But he stood outside the door making sure that she didn´t run out.

**Brax´s pov**

When he saw her coming through the door he felt his chest tighten. She was even more beautiful in person then he remembered, her hair now reached to her lower back and it had that same tone of golden brown that brought out the blue in her eyes. Her beautiful eyes he used to drown in, was now filled with tears.

"_Hey what are the tears for? I´m fine, I really am. Come here, I can´t reach you over there!"_ He grinned at her but he was trying really hard not to cry too. He couldn´t believe that he had her back. That after all this time she was finally here with him again.

She walked slowly over to the bed and he motioned for her to sit beside him on the bed. When she sat down there hands touched, and the touch of her skin sent electric shocks through his body and he couldn´t take it anymore. Looking into her beautiful eyes he cupped her cheek and pulled her closer and kissed her with such passion and longing, and it didn´t take long for her to respond. Her hand traveled up his chest until it found his neck.  
When they pulled away with the need of air, he leaned his forehead against hers not breaking their eye contact.

"_I´ve missed you so much Charlie! You have no idea how happy I was when I heard you calling for me!"_

"_You heard that?"_ She bit her bottom lip the same time as her cheeks blushed into a red tone. Which only made him smile, he had missed being able to get her to blush it was one of his favorite things. It gave him the knowledge that he could get under her skin.  
_"I heard you saying that you needed me, and that you needed me to be okay cause you cared."_ She smiled at him before she leant in and kissed him quickly before she leant her head against his forehead again. _"So are you staying? Cause I need you here… I couldn´t bear the thought of losing you again Charlie!"_ She caressed his cheek and smiled at him, a smile that sent shivers up his spine. _"I´m right here, I´m not going anywhere."_

**Two weeks later**

**Charlie´s pov**

These past two weeks has been the best weeks of her life. She had met up with everyone she had to leave behind. Everything seemed like the old days. Leah had offered her to stay in her old room, which she gladly accepted, she went for runs on the beach in the mornings, she had coffees at the Diner and once a day she would go to see Brax at the hospital.  
But she stayed shorter and shorter every time. He was getting better and would soon be able to go home. This meant he would go back to his old ways and she didn´t want to interfere.  
Even though it had felt like old times, she couldn´t erase the words and the pictures that were stuck in her mind. And she wasn´t going to let herself be fooled that this was anything more than it really was. They were having a good time, they had been scared that he might die and that was that.

When she walked through the doors to his room, she couldn´t help but laugh at the frustrated expression on his face when Sid told him that he had to stay at the hospital for two more days. Sid laughed too before he walked out of the room and left them alone.  
_"So how is the patient today?"_ She said as she walked up to the bed. "_A whole lot better for seeing you!"_ He grinned and swung his leg over the bed so that he sat on the edge. He grabbed her hips and pulled her in between his legs.  
_"Hello"_ He smirked at her before he leaned in close, so that his lips were nearly touching hers without breaking their eye contact. She drew in a sharp breath, she knew exactly where this were heading. A second later his lips were on hers, kissing her tenderly. His one hand traveled up and cupped her face while the other one stayed on her hip. When she opened her mouth slightly he slipped his tongue in and the kiss deepened quickly.  
They broke apart in the need of air and he smiled at her and showed of his dimples. _"Now that´s what I call a hello" "Yeah" _She smiled at him and he took it as an invitation, but when he leaned in to kiss her again, she pulled away and sat down in the chair next to the bed.  
_"So are you excited to get out of here?"_ He frowned and looked at her in confusion but still answered. _"Yeah, like you wouldn´t believe. I´m so sick of this place!" "So what are you going to do when you get out?" " I would say surf, but I´m not sure that I´m allowed to do that yet."_  
She smiled and nodded at him and then an awkward silence overcome them, something that had never happened before.

They both knew what they wanted, but no one wanted to say it out loud, unsure of what the other one had planned for their future.

**Brax´s pov**

He couldn´t help but feel a little irritated and hurt by her actions. Every day she stayed for a shorter period of time, and when he tried to kiss her she would pull away completely or end the kiss right after it started. And it made him think even more about the possibility that had been on his mind ever since he woke up. That she left without him because she didn´t want to be with him.  
_"So I better get going." "What you´re leaving? You just got her?!"_ She stood up and smiled one of those killer smiles of hers. _"Yeah, well I only came here to say goodbye…" "What you´re leaving for good?"_ Now he stood up too. He had just got her back, something he had only dreamt about, not wanting to say it out loud. He walked up to her and grabbed her hands to pull her closer but she remained where she was.  
_"Yeah, well there´s nothing that keeps me here anymore. You´re back on your feet and on your way back to your old life, and Ruby is not around so there´s not really any reason for me to stay." "What about me?"  
_She pulled away from his grasped and looked up at him in confusion_. "What about you Brax? You´re with Ricky now, nothing else matters." "But I wouldn´t be with her if I hadn´t lost you! You just have to say the word and I´ll leave her in a second if it means that I could have you back!"_

He could see the tears build up in her face but she tried to keep up a happy face. She walked up to him and placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it with her thumb_. "We had our time Brax and it was cut short. But you have moved on now. I can see that you´re happy with her, so go be happy Brax. You deserve that."_ She kissed him softly on the lips before she made her way to the door to leave.  
_"So what?! You´re just gonna get up and leave again, is that it? I thought you were dead Charlie, and it took me a long time to move on from you, I didn´t wanna, but I had to eventually. And when I have, I find out that it was all for nothing! All the pain that was caused by losing you, was all for nothing you cause you were never dead. You just left..!"_ He looked at her no with tears in his eyes too. He thought he would see regret or something in her face but it only showed anger. _"I get that you had to go into hiding. That you were in danger, and that it was entirely my fault. But you couldn´t possibly be so mad at me that you couldn´t take me with ya?!" _

He was now screaming at her, and all the emotions he had inside of him were in display. Every angry, heartbroken, grieving thought.  
He could see tears on her face, but it wasn´t tears of remorse it was tears of anger. Her entire body was shaking and he could see her small, delicate hands clutching into fists. "_DON`T YOU DARE!"_ She spat out with so much emotion that he was taken aback_. "Don´t you dare say that to me! Don´t you dare cover up your mistakes in a way that is convenient for you and then dare blame it on me! The thing when Jake shot me had nothing to do with me going into hiding, it was the reason I went into hiding. Jake was my doing, cause I killed his brother to save your life after I was dragged into your stupid gang war. I guess I could get over that fact if I wasn´t to wake up alone in a room, not knowing where I was, and without my family by my side. And when I said that I needed to tell the man I loved with everything I had… Do you know what they told me?"_ She finally looked up at him, the hurt showing in her eyes while the tears streamed down her face_. "Well do you?!"_ He shook his head in despair, he had no idea of what she was talking about. _"They said, It´s okay, he already knows! He´s the one that put you here. Do you know how that felt? To realize that you didn´t mean anything to the man you had given up your life for? And then only to find out that he did it so that he would be able to move on with his life with no complications or obligations. Yeah I know Brax. About all the women. So don´t give me any crap about not being able to move on when we both know that that´s not the truth!" "Get out!" "No!" "I said GET OUT!" "NO! I´m not done yet." "Oh yes you are Charlie!"_

He looked right into her eyes, the sad, broken man was gone and replaced by some fiercely, almost dangerous, looking man_. " I can´t believe that you would think that I could ever do that to you! If I remember it correctly, you weren´t the only one to give up their life for the one that they loved. I walked away from my family to move away with you. I loved you so much that I didn´t give a rat´s ass of how anyone else felt. All I could think about was you and me, and our future together in the city! So if you really believe that about me, then you´re right. You should go and I should stay and be happy with Ricky, cause it´s obviously not going to happen with you!" _  
She didn´t say anything, she just looked at him and nodded her head before she walked out the door.

As soon as the door closed behind her he swiped down his water glass from his bedside table with such force that it cracked in two when it hit the floor. What the hell had just happened? And what was rambling on about him agreeing for her to go into witness protection. But what angered him the most was what she had said about all the girls he had been with and the reason he allegedly had sent her away for. How could she believe that about him?! 


	3. Chapter 3 - Secrets always comes out

**So Chapter three, not to many changes but some! I think most changes will come in the next chapter. It will probably be up tomorrow!  
Xx Lexie**

**Chapter three- Brax´s pov**

Two days went by pretty fast and Brax was finally out of the hospital and back home. He was relaxing on the couch with Ricky´s head in his lap. They had argued for the last two days, going back and forth. But he had finally convinced her to stick around, much to Casey´s dislike. And Heath´s, cause he thought: _"Now that Buckton is alive, shouldn´t you be shacking with her and not that scheme?"_  
The tension in the house was unbearable and he could sense that if a confrontation was to come, Ricky would be out the door quicker than quick. And that was the last thing he wanted right now. He just wanted to relax and try to forget about the last couple of days.  
But it wasn´t easy, his mind drifted from the fights with Ricky and Casey to the confrontation and the days he spent with Charlie.  
It was just so unreal, she was really back! In the beginning he really thought he was still in a coma, dreaming, and he tried to stay awake so that he wouldn´t wake up and she would be gone. But she really was back, but now she might just be gone again.  
He hadn´t heard from her or seen her since she walked out of his hospital-room the other day, so he had no idea if she was still in the bay or not. A part of him really wanted her to stay because he didn´t want to leave it like that, but then the other part of him was so angry with her and convinced him that he didn´t give two shits whether she stays or leaves.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a hand touching his face. He locked down on a confused Ricky. _"Huh? Did you say something?"_  
She chuckled lightly before sitting up and turning her body so that she was facing him. _"I said; What are you thinking about? You were a million miles away." "Nothing!"_ He sighed before turning his attention back to the Tv that he really wasn´t watching in the first place.  
_"You were thinking about her, weren´t you? Charlie?"_ He tensed at the mention of her name and clenched his jaw to suppress the anger that rose within him.  
_"Damn it Ricky, don´t start that again! I already told ya, she´s out of my life for good and you are the one I want to be with, not her!" "Oh really? Does she know that too?" Of course she does! She´s the one making sure of that." _

As soon as the words left his mouth he bit his tongue. That was so not the right thing to say if he wanted to end this conversation without any further ado.  
_"So what are you saying? That if it was up to you, you would be back together by now? Cause if that´s the case then just tell me Brax. I´m a big girl and I can handle myself, I don´t need you to stay with me so that I don´t feel used. I knew what I was getting myself into when I met you, that part of you would always belong to her and out of reach to me."_

In the heat of the moment they had both stood up and was now standing on opposite sides of the room, with eyes saying how awfully tiered they were of having the same conversation over and over again.  
A faint knock sounded, and in the open doorway stood Charlie of all people. She couldn´t have found a more inappropriate time to swing by to confess her feelings for him. But by the shocked look on her face upon seeing him, he realized that that was not the case, and that sort of pissed him off too.  
_"What are you doing here?"_ It came out angrier then he meant it to, and he could see her flinch.  
_"Ehm, I didn´t know you would be here, but I uh… I only came to drop this off"_  
And then he saw the cartoon box she held in her hands. _"What is it?"_ he said more soft then before, hoping it would make up for before.  
_"Ehm, its some things of yours that you left at Leah´s place. I found them when I was going through my stuff."  
_He felt the anger rise within him once more. She was really serious with cutting him off and out of her life. Not only did she take off and leave, but now she was really throwing him out. But he wouldn´t let her affect him anymore, or in front of Ricky, so he plastered on a fake cruel grin before he spoke.  
_"Yeah, well if I have survived for two years without them I´m sure I´ll be just fine now too even though you´re back"_  
She just sent him an irritated look and let out a sigh before she placed the box on the floor when he wouldn´t take it from her. _"Fine then throw it away, I really don´t care."_  
And with that she was gone.

He walked over to the box and picked it up and placed it on the kitchen table, where he stood looking down on it.  
_"I´ll leave you to it yeah? Call me when you´re ready"_ He could hear Ricky leaving and he was grateful, now he didn´t have to hide his frustration with Charlie, he could just let it out.  
He picked up the items one by one. First it was a couple of checked button-up shirts that he had had at her place for sleepovers. At the next item his breath caught in his throat. In his hands he held a photo frame with a picture of the two of them on the beach, he was sitting behind her on the sand with her between his legs and his arms wrapped around her waist, and her was leaning on his shoulder while they both had goofy-looking smile.  
But that wasn´t what upset him the most, dangling from the corner of the frame was a silver necklace. The same necklace he had given her on her birthday, the only piece of jewelry he had ever gotten her, and she had never taken it off. When he had asked her about it she simply said it was a part of her that reminded her of him. And it hurt him that she had given it back, she couldn´t have made it any clearer that she was trying to get rid of him.

He pushed back the tears in his eyes when the sadness was replaced by anger once again. She was trying to get rid of him, and she had left him but he had no idea of why.

**Charlie´s pov**

It had been a week since she had gone over to Brax´s place to drop of the box and had been shocked by him being there, but not as shocked as hearing what he had to say about her. But once it had sunken in, it just made her realize that what she was doing was the right thing to do, and it made her decisions about her life so much easier.  
She was finally out of witness protection, her boss Inspector Joyce had called her right after she had left Brax´s hospital room and told her that she could stay in Summer bay, that wasn´t really in any immediate danger considering that everyone was now safely behind bars after resent events.

She was on her way to the diner for a coffee before her first day back at work began, but for the first time without the uniform. While she had been hiding she had finally taken her detectives exams, and passed with ease considering that she didn´t have anything else to do but to study. So now she was Detective Buckton, placed at Yabbie Creek police station.  
Yeah, she was resigning before she was shoot, but seeing that the person she gave up her career for didn´t really care about her, she didn´t see any distraction stopping her from doing her job. And she was proud of herself for following her father´s footsteps and staying in Summer bay that had become her home, and she hoped that he was too where ever he was right now.

When she walked through the door to the Diner she was meet by a cheerful Colleen by the counter.  
_"Hi Colleen, can I get a flat white to go?"_ Colleen didn´t respond for a few seconds she just stood there smiling at her. _"Good morning… DETECTIVE Buckton!"_ she squealed and Charlie couldn´t help but laugh at the old lady. _"I`m happy to see you back on the force Detective, and I´m sure your father is smiling down at you from up there! He would be so proud that you is still keeping us safe after everything you went through!"_

Charlie couldn´t help but flinch at the memory that came up at Colleen´s words, her lying on the floor in her uniform. But she had gone over it over and over in her head so many times that she had finally come up with the solution that it wouldn´t hold her back, she was going to fight it with everything she had. And a way to do that was to be a police officer.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Colleen handing her the coffee. When she had paid for it she made her way to the door, and that´s when she saw him sitting at one of the tables, and by the look on his face he had heard her conversation with Colleen. He looked confused and not too pleased when he looked her in the eye. But she didn´t respond in any way, she just turned her head and walked out the door.

**Brax´s pov**

Detective? She was staying in the force anyway? Was she really that stupid? He was on his way to run after her but thought better of it. He knew deep down that she could take care of herself. She had been a really good sergeant, he if anyone should know, and if she could survive two gunshots then she could probably survive just about anything.

He slumped back into his chair and pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed Ricky´s number instead.  
_"Brax?"_ She sounded surprised that he was calling, probably not expecting to hear from him after what happened the other day. _"Hi! I´m sorry I didn´t call after that night ay, but I was pissed off and I didn´t want to take it out on you."_  
He bit his bottom lip, hoping that she would buy it without any questions. _"It´s okay, I understand." "Do you wanna meat up or something?" "Yeah sure… I was going to head for a surf, wanna come?"  
"Defiantly"  
_He smiled when he hung up the phone. He was glad he had found Ricky, she wouldn´t take his shit, but neither would she push him and bee needy. Like she said, she was a big girl and could handle herself, and if didn´t want her around then she didn´t want to be around either. ¨

He left the Diner and drove home to get changed and pick up his board. When he got inside the house he went to his room to change. On his way to the closet he stumbled on something in front of it. When he looked down he saw the box that Charlie had brought around. He hadn´t looked it through probably; when he got to the necklace he put everything away again. He knew that he shouldn´t but he couldn´t help it. He went to his bed and poured out the box´s contents on the mattress.  
On the bed laynow, the shirts, a few more photo frames with pictures of them, the necklace and a letter. A letter? Had she written him a frickin´ letter? He sat on the bed with the envelope in his hands, debating if he should read it or not. But he wanted to know what it said, what she had to say. But when he turned the envelope around, her name was written on the front. He knew he probably shouldn´t but if she had given it to him, then she would want him to read it right?

He opened the letter and started reading it. When he was done reading he dropped the letter and just stared ahead. He didn´t know what to do or feel, he was angry, sad, betrayed but most of all he felt guilt.


	4. Chapter 4 - No more lies

**Hi guys! So here´s the next chapter, and I just wanted to thank you for all of you reviews! And I´ve noticed that almost everybody wants a chax reunion soon and Ricky gone. But I´m gonna leave you guys hanging for a while, cause as you both now they are very stubborn haha. Anyways, here´s the next chapter. Enjoy!  
Xx Lexie**

**Brax´s pov**

The contents of the letter had really shaken him. He didn´t know how to react or how to feel. Hell he didn´t even know if it was the truth or not, and to be frankly he really didn´t want to believe it either. He was walking down the now empty beach trying to get his head around it. Ever since he had heard Charlie´s voice at the hospital, he felt like he was dreaming and that once he woke up everything would be gone. And right know he kind of wished that he was dreaming.

It was now dark outside which told him that he was late. When he had found the letter it wasn´t even noon yet and after reading it he just went to work, trying to get it out of his mind. But once he got there he couldn´t concentrate on the papers before him, so he just walked to the secluded part of the beach and sat there the rest of the day. Any thoughts of meeting Ricky was long gone, the only thing he could think about was Charlie. He thought of everything they had been through, everything they had said to each other. He has never been so open about himself and his life to anyone, as he has been with Charlie. And he thought that she had been just the same, but still she had kept the most important thing from him.

As he looked over to the look-out at Stewart´s Point he saw a piety figure sitting on the stone-wall. The figure had on knee drawn up to the chest so it could rest its chin on it and it´s gaze was out over the water. When the figure was hit by the moonlight, he saw that the person on the wall was no other then the person that consumed his mind.  
Without really having a plan or thinking it through he was on his feet and on his way back to his car. He drove the short drive up to the look-out and then he almost ran the path that led from the car-park through the trees and too the so called "balcony".  
And that´s when he saw her up close. She looked so fragile, and the moonlight made the tears in her eyes glimmer. It broke him to see her like this, all he wanted to do was to hold her in his arms to comfort her. But something inside of him held him back.  
He stood there for another couple of minutes without her noticing him, she just kept looking out of the water and once in a while she tried to wipe the many tears away. In the end he couldn´t stand it, he walked up slowly to her and sat behind her before he moved his arms around her waist to pull her close.  
She jumped by the sudden contact of his arms and he could sense that she was on her way to scream, but he beat her to it. _"Hey,hey, it´s just me, sch!"_  
He could feel her relax in his arms and fall back into his chest. He kissed her hairline several times as his hand stroke up and down on her arm. As she calmed down she tried to escape his embrace but he wouldn´t let her, he just pulled her closer to him_.  
"Oh no you´re not!"_ She sighed but stayed in his embrace. _"What are you doing here Brax?"_ She asked in a flat tone.  
_"I saw you sitting here from down the beach. What are you doing here?"  
"I came to be alone, but that kinda backfired"_ He laughed at the sarcasm in her voice.  
_"What and you couldn´t be that at Leah´s in the middle of the night, when you´re in your bed. Or supposed to be anyway?"  
"Not if I didn´t want to be asked questions every five seconds when she sticks her head in to see if I´m okay."  
"She does that every night?"  
"No, just once a year. I thought she would´ve forgotten it after these two years but no." _He turned his head so that he could somehow see her face, he was confused.  
_"What do you mean, once a year? She did this before you were shot?"_ He could see her bite her tongue and cursing inwardly at what she just said.  
_"Nothing"_ He raised his eyebrow and looked her dead in the eye. Was she really gonna lie to HIM? Didn´t she know that that wouldn´t work, that he could tell when she wasn´t honest about something.  
_"Nah it´s obviously something otherwise people wouldn´t be checking up on you, and you wouldn´t be up here crying!"_ And then it dawned on him, the letter. It had to have something to do with the letter. _"Has it something to do with this?"_ He pulled out the letter out of his pocket and gave it to her. He heard her gasp when she read the letter.

_**Charlie!  
When you read this, it´s been a year since my husband was taken away from me and our children, and his brother because of you. I can´t believe that you would make something like that up, I get it that you might to stupid things when your 14, but to still keep doing it when you´re 30? You should be ashamed of yourself.  
You and your father have torn our entire family apart, and I will never forget about it and neither will Mark. And we will make sure that the kids won´t either. **_

_**I hope you´re really proud of yourself**_

_**Zoe Bledcoe**_

When she was done reading it she turned her and looked at him with fear in her eyes_.  
"Where did you get this?!"  
"You gave it to me? It was in the box of things you gave me when you threw me out."_ Looking at her he saw all kinds of different emotions in her face_. "But I can see now that that's not the case… So are you gonna tell me what the hell this letter is about and why you´re up here in the middle of the night?"  
_He could hear her take a deep breath and then he felt her pulling away from him again_. "Charlie…" _He began but she cut him off_.  
"If I´m gonna tell you I can´t have you touching me… and when I´m done I´m pretty sure you won't want to be near me anyway. Just… When I tell you this, try to not freak out please?_"

She looked at him with pleading eyes. He could see then that she was not only scared, she was just as messed up and broken as he was.  
But what she said also scared him, what could be so bad that she didn´t want him near her, and why would she think that he would freak out. But if he was going to be honest, just the words made him tense up, trying to prepare himself of what she was going to say, already knowing it wouldn´t be good.  
_"Why do I get the feeling that I´m not going to like what I am about to hear?"_  
She looked up at him apologetically before she looked out over the ocean_.  
"Cause you probably won´t. But please don´t interrupt me, don´t say anything until I´m finished."_

He just nodded and looked at her, waiting for her to start. She took a deep breath, her eyes not leaving the waves ones.  
_"When I was fourteen I had this boyfriend, Grant. My parents, mostly my dad liked him, he was popular and kind. But mostly, he showed interest in me, and I fell for his charm…  
After a few weeks we were out on a date and afterwards we went back to his place. His parents' wasn´t home so we sat on the couch in the lounge room instead of hiding in his room.  
Ehm… We started making out, and I didn´t think about it too much cause we had done it before. But then…"_

Her voice broke and her hands kept fibbing with each other in her lap. He could see that she found it hard to find the words, he already had a pretty good idea of what she was going to say but he wanted to hear it. He need her to confirm that someone had hurt that deeply.  
When he tried to reach out to her she flinched and he let his hand fall to his sides with a sigh.

"_But then… But then he started to feel me up, more then he normally would. And then he had his hands on the buttons to my shorts… I kept saying no, but it was like he didn´t hear me or something.  
I tried to get him of me but I couldn´t, he just kept going.  
The whole time he looked down on me with this… smirk on his face that made me freeze. It wasn´t a smirk that you used to give me, it was an evil and cold smirk. And when I looked in his eyes, it was as if he was enjoying watching me with pain… And.."  
_She tried to speak but she just couldn´t utter the words. Tears streamed down her face and for the first time since she started to speak, she turned to face him. She looked so scared and hurt, that he felt like he was going to break. Just the thought of someone hurting him made him feel sick and angry. All the anger he had for her went out the window. Someone had hurt the one he loved, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt helpless. He wanted to push her to tell him where this guy were so that he could beat the guy senseless, but he had promised her to let her finished, and he had a feeling that she was far from it.  
_"Afterwards he just left me on the couch, I just lay there a few moments before pulling on my clothes and running out the door. When I got home I didn´t speak to anyone, I just locked myself in my room and crying myself to sleep.  
The next day I got up and acted like nothing had happened. I ignored my friends and my parents when they asked me what was wrong and eventually I started to believe it.  
But then four months afterwards I started to feel sick, and that´s when I found thh-at I was-was pregnant… "_  
Then it dawned on him. Ruby. He had heard Casey ask her several times about her father and she had always answered him the same. That her father was gone and that it was better that way.  
_"Ruby. The baby was Ruby right?"  
"Yepp. When I found out I was pregnant I got so terrified that I told my father everything when he got home. And he being a cop got furious with me for not telling him earlier, cause now it would get so much harder to press charges.  
Grant of course denied it and said that I had agreed to it, so it was his words against mine. And me being pregnant didn´t help either. He used it against me, saying that the only reason I´m saying that he raped me was because I was pregnant and didn't want my parents to be ashamed of me.  
But it didn´t matter my father was already aa-shamed of me, he tt-hought I was weak for letting a guy do that to me. So the charges were dropped and I had the baby. And here is the part you´re going to hate me for, as if I wasn´t repulsive enough."  
_He was shocked by her words and before he could respond she had tried her tears and continued talking.  
_"After Ruby was born, I could bond. I went into some kind of depression, the birth had brought up all the memories of that night again, and I just wasn´t strong enough.  
My father could barely look at me, and my mother was smothering me. So I ran away, and left Ruby with my parents.  
I stayed with my aunt for a year and she made me realize that I could do this. So I went back home, ready to be the best mom I could, only to find out that Ruby had already bonded with my parents… My parents sat me down and dad explained that he thought it was best if we told everyone that Ruby was their daughter, my sister, cause otherwise it would create so much gossip.  
My own father made me ashamed of my own daughter, and we lived like sisters for sixteen years. Until my dad got Alzheimer's and I had this car accident that brought up questions about the scar on my belly. The doctor claimed that it was a suzerain but my father and Ruby denied it, saying I never had a baby, although my father knew differently.  
So that night after everyone left the hospital he came to me and said it was time we told the truth, cause once he got worse he couldn´t promise me that he wouldn´t say something.. But I broke down and promised him not to say anything. So he didn´t.  
But Ruby just couldn´t let what the doctor said go, and neither could Moragh, and soon I had had enough of their questions so I cracked and said that I had a baby. And they assumed that it was adopted, so then Ruby started to talk about finding him, cause I said it was a boy that was now fourteen. And I just couldn´t handle it so I spat out that he had died. And then it went quiet. But my daughter´s stubborn, oh so stubborn"  
_She let out a tiered laugh and drew her hand through her hair and dried away a tear that had escaped her eye. He couldn´t imagine how hard this must have been for her.  
But he couldn´t help but laugh at her statement about Ruby´s stubbornness, cause that she was.  
He remembered the time she had pushed Charlie into signing up to an dating-site on the net, and then forcing her to go on a date with a bloke, that later on turned out to be him.  
_"That she is. Stubborn, just like her mom."_ Charlie sent him a small smile before looking out over the water were her father now lay to rest.  
_"Yeah she is. She kept talking about the baby, and one night when she asked about it, asking me to open up I just couldn´t lie anymore.  
How could I stand there and lie to my beautiful, sweet, innocent daughter and tell her that I´ve denied her existence in front of her for two weeks. So I told her that she was my daughter, but I couldn´t tell her the whole story before she ran out.  
But once she calmed down I told her everything, no more lies. But little did I know that she went out to find her father.  
All this happened about 8 months before you came to the bay, and six months before my father died. So when Ruby finally found Grant she confronted him and then she thought that was it. But he came back to the bay, and it was like everything was happening all over again.  
There were fights and I was terrified to let Ruby out of my sight, and it didn´t help that we wasn´t on the best of terms.  
So one night when I was walking on the beach he came up to me, and.. and he attacked me. He was straddling me in the sand but before he could get any further my father came around and he hit got so angry at the sight that he picked up the nearest rock and hit Grant over the head. He died later that night at the hospital, and my father was charged with manslaughter, but got off because of his illness.  
All this happened on the anniversary of my rape. His family won´t believe it, but he admitted when he was on top of me that he had forced himself on me, he even told Ruby. And I wasn´t the only girl he had done it to, but his wife and brother won´t accept it. And that´s why I get these notes, and I guess it will all start again now that I´m back."_

She let out a sigh, and then the tears came down once she let the walls down she had kept up during the entire story, cause if she hadn´t she wouldn´t have been able to speak.  
Brax just looked at her in shock. She had been through so much, but she was still sitting her before him looking so beautiful. He couldn´t help but feel guilty for all the pain he caused her over the time they were together, as if she hadn´t been through enough.  
A tear rolled down his cheek to and he his hands was clutched into fist at his sides.  
_"Why would I hate you for this?"  
"Cause I abandoned Ruby, just like your parents did to you, and I know how much you hate them for it."_  
He locked at her stunned. Was she serious? How could this beautiful creature, compare herself to those… to those monsters? She was nothing like them.  
He moved forward and took her in his arms and didn´t care about the fight she put up. It only made him hold her tighter to his chest, afraid to let her go. He leaned his head on hers and breathed in the smell of her perfume that he would recognize anywhere.  
It felt so good to have her in his arms again, he could feel her relax and her snuggling closer to his chest and he couldn´t help the grin that spread across his face.  
_"You are nothing like them! And I could never, ever hate you!"_  
`Because I love you!` He said inside his head.

**I know, I know this chapter was only out of Brax´s pov, but it just went that way. It´s a long chapter and I could´ve switched… but anyway hope you guys liked it and don´t forget to review! They literally make my day! Xx Lexie **


	5. Chapter 5 - haunting shadows

**Hi guys, so I'm sticking to this story after your wishes! I know it's been a while, but I've been struggling with this chapter and I'm still not happy with it... But I don't know what else to do, so here you go! **  
**Read and review please! Xx Lexie**

Chapter five  
Charlie's pov

She was walking along the beach after completing her first week back at the station. She had jumped right into her old investigation she had worked on before she went into hiding, there was just a few pieces missing that she hoped would come together over the next few days. But she had also tried to get used to being in that place again. Which wasn't really that hard when she found herself more at home and ease at her work place then in her actual home.

She may have decided to live at Leah's again, and she wanted to live there, but she couldn't quite control her nightmares. They weren't freaking her out so she couldn't sleep every night, just sometime she got flashbacks and then she would just sit on the floor and leaning against the wall all night, trying to convince herself that she was strong and safe.  
She had gotten used to the scars and she had come to terms with the fact that she had been shot and almost died, she had two years without any distractions to do so.  
But to actually be where it happened, brought it all back and it just seemed more real then to just look at the scars in the mirror.

So she spent as much time away from the house as possible if Leah or Zach wasn't home, and she would tier herself out so she would easily fall asleep once she was home.  
She knew that Leah was worried, cause she kept suggesting that she should move if it was to hard even though she was glad to have her back.  
But that place was her only link to her old life, way before everything started to get complicated. She had so many good memories there with Ruby, Leah, her dad, Angelo, Joey... And Brax. And she wasn't going to let some thug take that away from her, no matter how hard they tried.

So now she was waking by the edge of the water with her black shoes in her hand and her jeans rolled up, letting the sand and water run over her feet as she walked towards the diner.  
As she looked up towards the surf-club her eyes locked with a pair of mesmerising green ones that she knew far to well, and she could see them coming towards her without breaking the contact.  
She hadn't really spoken to Brax since the night by the point when she had cried in his arms. He called the house the next day and asked if she was okay, she said yes and something about 'thanks for the ride home' and then she hung up. Quite frankly she had been avoiding him ever since, she didn't know what this meant and she didn't want to get knocked to the ground again.  
The whole time when he had held her and everything he said and did that night made her feel like he cared about her, and it confused her cause it didn't add up with what he had done and the anger she felt towards him. She didn't want to send him any mixed signals that she has forgiven him for what he did or that she want him to leave Ricky, cause she had done none of these things.

She kept walking hoping it would stop his approach, but it did it of course. He wasn't stupid, he knew she was avoiding him and he wanted to talk to her so of course he would follow.  
_"Hey Charlie, wait up!"_ She groaned inwardly and looked up to the sky but stopped and turned to face him.  
_"What Brax?"_ It came out cool and with no emotion at all, and she hoped that her effort to keep emotions of her face payed of too. She could see his gaze travel all over her tense body and face, trying to read her before he spoke softly.  
_"I just wanted to know that you were okay..."  
"I told you I was fine when you called."  
"Yeah I know..." _He scratched the back of his neck with his hand, telling her that there was something bothering him.  
_"Just say it Brax! I can tell there's something on your mind, so out with it..." _He hesitated for a few seconds before he sighed and let his hand fall back to his side.  
_"We need to talk Charlie.."  
"We're talking right now..." _She knew what he wanted, but she didn't want to hear his pathetic lies and excuses, she had already heard them at the hospital the first time.  
He let out a frustrated sigh and a slight anger crossed his face.  
_"That's not what I meant and you know it! We need to talk about what happened, get everything out in the open..."  
"What's there to talk about? You had your fun and you wanted out, and you got the bonus to mess up my life while doing it too. Did I really mean so little to you that you couldn't even keep in contact when I was gone? You were the only one who knew, and I thought you loved me... But you proved me wrong on that one too when I got to see the pictures then I realized that you didn't just get rid of me because I was a cop but because you wanted no complications when you moved from girl to girl. Are you really that heartless?"_ She threw her hands in the air in exasperation with a frustrated look on her face. Her word came out harsh and filled with emotions.

_"How dare you question if I loved you?! I gave up everything for, I gave up my family for you because I saw my future with you and no one else. I have never ever felt that strongly about a girl, and I have never been the one to make sacrifices to be with her, but I did with you! And you just left, and didn't take me with you because you were angry for some bizarre thing that I supposedly did, that I have no idea what that is! So I think the question here is, are you really that heartless to leave your daughter behind just because your angry?"_ His eyes were wide and so was was his nose flares. And he kept pinching the bridge of his nose when he thought of what he was going to say. You could tell that he was pissed as well.  
_"For the hundredth time Brax, I didn't get a choice, when I woke up I was already in hiding, and for some reason you weren't there and it broke me. But then they said that you stayed behind so it would look more real so it would be safe for me. So I asked for updates and that's when the pictures came and I realised that it wasn't completely selfless what you had done. So don't blame this one on me, cause if it wasn't for you I wouldn't even have to talk about going into hiding!"_

As soon as she said it she could see the splash of hurt on his face. She didn't feel like it was his fault but she knew better, her work gave her evidence that it really was his fault.  
Tears started to form in her eyes and she couldn't hold in her emotions anymore, they had been on overdrive since she got back here.  
_"I woke up alone, I had been shot and I was so scared and the only one that I wanted to hold me, he wasn't there. Instead I got to see photos of him and different girls, every time it felt like I was kicked in the stomach. It hurt so much Brax... Cause I loved you with every ounce of my being, but you didn't love me back"  
"Nah, I'm not listening to this! I loved you so much, Charlie, what do I have to do to prove it to ya? I thought you were dead, I had no idea that you were still alive and I'm so grateful that I got you back. But I can't get over the fact that you left and let me believe that you were dead for two years, I just can't forget that."  
"I guess there's no point in talking then is it? Goodbye Brax!_  
She turned away from him and continued down the beach, while hugging herself and looking out over the water.

_"Detective, can I have a word please?"  
"Of course sir!" _The inspector motioned for her to come into her office, he closed the door behind them before he seated himself in her chair and motioned once again to take the seat in the opposite side of the desk.  
_"I would like to discuss your case about the whole gang ring. We have made a break through and it confirms our suspicions."  
"Yeah?"  
"Yes, but I think it will come as shock for you, because it all concerns you..."  
"Oh okay... How come?" _  
He stayed silent for a minute like he was thinking about how much he would say.  
_"We were right when we thought that someone hired Pirovic to shoot you, and we now know who. This will also shed some light over the Riverboys' success. The person who hired Pirovic was Adam Sharp... He has also been some kind of higher boss then Darryl Braxton, he would help them with money and help them get out of trouble, his sister is also involved somehow but we don't know her part... We have charged Sharpe with this as well, now we just have to inform Mr Braxton. I thought I would leave that to you if that's okay..?"  
"Yeah that's fine."_ She said with a low voice, her head spinning with thoughts.  
_"Alright I will leave you to it!"_  
And with that he walks out of her office, leaving her behind scared and confused. Everything was coming back to her. That man had nestled his way into Bianca's life and he had used her when she was weak, his son had attacked Leah, Adam and Ricky had gone after Brax by putting all of his brothers in danger.

She ran out of the station and jumped in her car and drove over to Angelo's, tears was silently falling down her face as she made her way over the car park by the surf-club and up the stairs to the restaurant.  
She was so scared, memories flashed in front of her eyes. The gun in the hand of the angry man in her living room. The dark hospital room. The case files, trying to put a face of the men who wanted her dead at the same time as she tried to crack the gang ring. Now she had all the answers, she had stayed away to protect her family but it didn't help much. Everything she had ever felt these last years came flooding over her, but now it was finally over, and she was exhausted.

Brax's pov

He looked up from his task by the bar and saw Charlie in the doorway with tears in her eyes, her body was shaking and fear screamed from her eyes.  
_"Brax!"_ Her voice sounded so small when she made her way over to him, he dropped what he had in his hands and run up to her and took her in a tight embrace, letting her cry into his chest. She clung to the back of his shirt like she was afraid of him letting go.  
He had no idea what had brought this on but he couldn't help but smile a little at the feeling of her in his arms willingly.  
_"The restaurant is closed, your meal is on the house, please leave! You too!"_ He pointed at the workers, and within a few minutes the restaurant was empty except for the two of them.  
He lead her to one of the booths and placed her on his lap and her head under his chin.  
_"Charlie, what's wrong?"_  
She didn't answer she just looked ahead, looking like she was putting together a puzzle in her head.  
_"Baby, come on, you're scaring me!"_ She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him through tear filled eyes.  
_"It's all my fault Brax."  
"What is?"  
"I know who shot me.." _He furrowed his eyebrows, what the heck was she talking about. Of course she knew, he knew too, the guy was in jail for Christ sake.  
_"Yeah so do I, it was Jake Pirovic."  
"He may have pulled the trigger, but he didn't plant the gun."  
"What are you talking about, Charlie?" _  
She got out of his lap and started walking around the room while brushing her hand threw her hair.

_"I.. I should've just left you guys alone once we caught you, I shouldn't have kept pushing to get to the top, if.. If I hadn't we wouldn't be in this situation..."  
"What the hell are you talking about?!"  
"Do, do you remember when I was gone, and Adam came back to help you away from Geofery King? And you went back into the criminal world?"  
"Yeah..."  
"Adam was the one who took care of the boys business right?" He nodded and wondered where this were going. "And he didn't like it when you said you were going straight right?"  
"Kinda.. Where are you going with this?" _  
She took a deep breath and walks over to the big wall windows and looked out over the ocean, something he found her doing every time she was going to say something that troubled her or scared her. He got up from his chair and walked up to stand beside her.  
_"When you told Adam you were going straight he didn't like it, cause he would lose his most valuable asset and your loyalty to each other, favour for favour. He wouldn't have anyone to control. So he, he hired Jake to ki-kill me, and Jake was more then willing to do so." _  
She crossed her arms over her chest, like she was hugging herself, trying to give her strength to carry on.

_"When, when the cops caught him, he said that he was paid to do it but that he would have done it for free. He never told them who it was, just that there was someone else behind it all. But then Adam came into your life, and started to stir things up again.  
We have always had our suspicions, and when I was in wp we noticed someone following us, so we moved, they wouldn't risk us being spotted. They tried to identify the person and when they did they found out that they were associated with Adam, and by then Adam had reappeared for the second time in your life so they looked into him.  
Adam had payed Pirovic 10 grand a few days after my shooting."_

_"What are you saying, Charlie?"  
"I was treathining to ruin his operation so he wanted me dead, and when he found out that he failed the first time he tried again, only we didn't know it was him at the time."  
"He, he tried again?!"_ He found the words hard to say, he had let that man in with open arms after he had lost Charlie, he looked up to him as a father. And the whole time he was the reason for his misery, and he knew that Charlie was still alive.

_"Who was the one coming after you?"  
"They wouldn't say... They told me to tell you and ask you to get to the station as soon as possible so you could get the information, and they asked you to bring Ricky too. Don't ask why, I guess it's because it's about her brother._

He stood silent for a while, trying to process what he had been told. If Adam had been involved then it was a big chance that Ricky had been as well, but he didn't want to think about that. She would have come clean about it when she admitted to all the other stuff as well, but he couldn't quite let it go.  
He was startled when he felt her soft hand on his arm, but the heat radiating from her skin calmed him almost immediately.  
_"Are you okay Brax?"  
"Haha am I okay? The question is if you're okay, Charlie?"  
"Why wouldn't I be?"_ She plastered a strained smile on her face and removed her hand from his arm, and he could already feel the coldness on his skin where her hand had been.  
_"Come on Charlie, this is me you're talking to.. I can see that you're not fine."  
"I'm just scared... I'm all alone and these faces keep popping up and mess up my life. I keep looking over my shoulder, I'm alone and scared, and I'm exhausted.  
I've done nothing else then watch over my shoulder for 2 years, and I thought that it was finally over but... It's still haunting me. I can't sleep, I can barley be in my own house alone I do everything I can to prolong going home... I don't think I can do it anymore, Brax!"_

_"Come here!"_ She didn't respond, she just looked at him in disbelief. _"I said come here!"_ He opened his arms and waited for her to walk over to him, once she did he embraced and run a hand threw her long, smooth hair.  
_"You are not alone, Charlie. You have Leah, Bianca, Roo, Irene and Mr Stewart. And you have... Me." _  
She pulled away a little so she could look at him, she raised her eyebrows and her eyes glowed with surprise.  
_"You?"  
"Yeah, of course. I just got you back, and there is no way in hell I'm letting you go again!"  
"I should probably go.. I'm sorry I ruined your business. Don't forget to come down to the station later."_ She gave him a genuine smile before she walked out of his embrace and restaurant.  
He slumped down on a chair and put his head in his hands while leaning his elbows on the table. This was one hell of a afternoon...


	6. Trailer new story

**so i've decibel to keep this one and delete crazy and stupid, or at least stop writing on it. This is a new idea I've come up with that might actually work! Say what you think!**

trailer - something that we're not

Charlie Holden (Buckton) has been out traveling the world for the past six months after everything that happened with Grant. She left her daughter Ruby with her father Tony Holden and her stepmom Beth.

When Charlie returns to Australia after six months she stays overnight with a few friends in the city and they hit the clubs. There she meets the handsome Darryl Braxton and she decides to let lose for once, it's not like she's going to meet him ever again. the other one has no idea of who the other one really is.

the next day she returns back home to summer bay to surprise her father and daughter. What she don't know is that he father has gotten new neighbours while she was away. The Braxton brothers.

ruby has already started seeing Casey and Brax has sold himself in with her father and brothers and bought himself a share of Angelo's, while Heath bums around and causing trouble for her two brothers Jack and Peter whom also are cops.

Shy can't stand them but staying clear of them isn't easy when they spend their time at her father or brothers place, when she Doesn't have to arrest them.

will Brax convince Charlie to give in or will she push him to far and make him give up?


End file.
